I'm glad to see this file-- the message I was able to read and share to my officemates in DAR :)
MONDAY CONVOCATION MAY 16, 2011
I honestly feel unworthy to be sharing from the Bible to you today knowing that I am a sinner. As it is written in Rom 3:10-11: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.” But then when I remember the grace that the Lord has given me through Jesus Christ, I am compelled to tell you the message that I treasure the most, the good news of God’s salvation of sinners like you and me, the message more commonly known as the gospel.
Well, I just thought that if ever the world does end in May 21 or barely a week from now, what message would be most fitting? Of course, this message of doom is not true for the Bible also says that ”Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. Mark 13:31-33. The end is sure to come, we just don’t know when. How do we prepare for it? By taking to heart the message of rescue—God rescuing men from their sins and its punishment by sending His son to offer the perfect sacrifice that will reconcile them back to God.
This will be short, for I will be giving the 5 main ingredients of the gospel and a brief explanation and verses to support it.
There are five essential contents of the Gospel and these are:
First, The Offended One: God and His Character
We have to start with God because of who He is.
He is the Lord Almighty, the Great One, the Eternal One who has His being in Himself and not dependent upon anything or anyone else. His greatness alone demands our worship and our service. He is the Creator of all things, the Lord of all beings.
God is also the Lawmaker and Judge. God has given man laws to obey but man rebelled and disobeyed Him. People forget that God as a Lawgiver and Judge demands obedience and will repay all disobedience and rebellion. And he has a very high standard.
Second; The Offender: Man (and His Sin)
What is sin? It is violation of God’s law, a rebellion against his holiness. We have violated the laws of God. Example: God said, “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before me”. Who among us here can really say we did not put other things before God, that we never loved money, people and things more than we love him? Also, God said “you shall not murder,” further explained in 1Jn 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, Who among us here never hated someone? God also said you shall not lie or steal, but can anyone really say “Oh no not me, I never lied and never stole from the time I was born.” So you see, all of us are guilty of offending God. And what is the consequence of our sin? Eternal damnation and separation from the presence of God. So if the world does end and our sins stay with us, the holy God will surely not receive us into his kingdom.
Third: The Mediator: Christ (and His Work)
Upto this point we have been hearing the frightening news. But here is where hope starts—the expression of God’s love for sinful men through His Son, Jesus Christ, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (Joh 3:16)
This is also seen in the next two verses:
John 14:6 “Jesus said, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
1 Timothy 2:5-6 “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all men.”
See, this is good news, we need not stay as God’s enemies—there is hope of reconciliation, and that is through Jesus Christ. Through the shedding of his divine blood we shall receive forgiveness, our sins washed away and God will accept us.
The Requirement: Repentance and Faith
Now we go to the fourth ingredient of the Gospel—our right Response to it which is to repent from our sins and have faith in the complete work of Jesus Christ.
Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
When Christ rose again from the dead, what message did he leave the disciples? Luke 24:45-47 "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
We must believe not only with our minds but with our hearts. We must see that He hates our sin. We must be really sorry that we have offended him. That, my dear friends, is true repentance from sin that leads to the right belief in Jesus Christ for reconciliation with God.
So we see, the gospel is not just any ordinary message about God, it is the message of salvation. It is something that we can understand and respond to – either we believe it or reject it. This leads us to the last ingredient:
Fifth: Assurance and Threat
If you repent and believe, this is the Bible’s assurance for you:
It will be enough to read to you these verses:
Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, (Act 3:19)
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (Joh 5:24)
But if you refuse to turn away from your sins and accept this good news of salvation you will perish, as it is written in
2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power.”
Take time to cry out before the Lord your God for salvation.
THIS ENDS MY SHARING. I THANK THE LORD SO MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE WITH YOU THE GOSPEL. NAGA-AMPO KO NA KINI MAKATABANG SA ATONG TANAN OG MUHATAG OG HIMAYA SA GINO-O.
MONDAY CONVOCATION MAY 16, 2011
I honestly feel unworthy to be sharing from the Bible to you today knowing that I am a sinner. As it is written in Rom 3:10-11: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.” But then when I remember the grace that the Lord has given me through Jesus Christ, I am compelled to tell you the message that I treasure the most, the good news of God’s salvation of sinners like you and me, the message more commonly known as the gospel.
Well, I just thought that if ever the world does end in May 21 or barely a week from now, what message would be most fitting? Of course, this message of doom is not true for the Bible also says that ”Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. Mark 13:31-33. The end is sure to come, we just don’t know when. How do we prepare for it? By taking to heart the message of rescue—God rescuing men from their sins and its punishment by sending His son to offer the perfect sacrifice that will reconcile them back to God.
This will be short, for I will be giving the 5 main ingredients of the gospel and a brief explanation and verses to support it.
There are five essential contents of the Gospel and these are:
- The Offended One: God (and His Character)
- The Offender: Man (and His Sin)
- The Mediator: Christ (and His Work)
- The Requirement: Repentance and Faith
- Assurance and Threat
First, The Offended One: God and His Character
We have to start with God because of who He is.
He is the Lord Almighty, the Great One, the Eternal One who has His being in Himself and not dependent upon anything or anyone else. His greatness alone demands our worship and our service. He is the Creator of all things, the Lord of all beings.
God is also the Lawmaker and Judge. God has given man laws to obey but man rebelled and disobeyed Him. People forget that God as a Lawgiver and Judge demands obedience and will repay all disobedience and rebellion. And he has a very high standard.
Second; The Offender: Man (and His Sin)
What is sin? It is violation of God’s law, a rebellion against his holiness. We have violated the laws of God. Example: God said, “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before me”. Who among us here can really say we did not put other things before God, that we never loved money, people and things more than we love him? Also, God said “you shall not murder,” further explained in 1Jn 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, Who among us here never hated someone? God also said you shall not lie or steal, but can anyone really say “Oh no not me, I never lied and never stole from the time I was born.” So you see, all of us are guilty of offending God. And what is the consequence of our sin? Eternal damnation and separation from the presence of God. So if the world does end and our sins stay with us, the holy God will surely not receive us into his kingdom.
Third: The Mediator: Christ (and His Work)
Upto this point we have been hearing the frightening news. But here is where hope starts—the expression of God’s love for sinful men through His Son, Jesus Christ, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (Joh 3:16)
This is also seen in the next two verses:
John 14:6 “Jesus said, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
1 Timothy 2:5-6 “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all men.”
See, this is good news, we need not stay as God’s enemies—there is hope of reconciliation, and that is through Jesus Christ. Through the shedding of his divine blood we shall receive forgiveness, our sins washed away and God will accept us.
The Requirement: Repentance and Faith
Now we go to the fourth ingredient of the Gospel—our right Response to it which is to repent from our sins and have faith in the complete work of Jesus Christ.
Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
When Christ rose again from the dead, what message did he leave the disciples? Luke 24:45-47 "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
We must believe not only with our minds but with our hearts. We must see that He hates our sin. We must be really sorry that we have offended him. That, my dear friends, is true repentance from sin that leads to the right belief in Jesus Christ for reconciliation with God.
So we see, the gospel is not just any ordinary message about God, it is the message of salvation. It is something that we can understand and respond to – either we believe it or reject it. This leads us to the last ingredient:
Fifth: Assurance and Threat
If you repent and believe, this is the Bible’s assurance for you:
It will be enough to read to you these verses:
Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, (Act 3:19)
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (Joh 5:24)
But if you refuse to turn away from your sins and accept this good news of salvation you will perish, as it is written in
2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power.”
Take time to cry out before the Lord your God for salvation.
THIS ENDS MY SHARING. I THANK THE LORD SO MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE WITH YOU THE GOSPEL. NAGA-AMPO KO NA KINI MAKATABANG SA ATONG TANAN OG MUHATAG OG HIMAYA SA GINO-O.
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